The Earth Stood Still
by Willow5
Summary: It started out as any other day. Then in a flash four lives were changed forever
1. Default Chapter Title

**This is my first attempt at Fanfiction in general, let alone turtle fics. So please I really, really, really need feedback. I may have over-rated this but better safe than sorry I always say^.^ But please review, I would like to know if this is any good or if I'm just fooling myself into thinking I can write^.^ Thank You! **

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**Legal Stuff: I don't own the turtles! The Gods do: www.ninjaturtles.com. And I'm not making any money off this. That's why it would be pointless to sue me; I'm broke.**

**THE EARTH STOOD STILL: PROLOGUE**

He sat alone, gazing at the stars as they faded in the morning light. The city stretched out below him. The first golden rays hit his face and he sighed, relishing the warmth. This was the most peaceful time of day to him. The only time he could be alone with his thoughts and not have anyone around to interrupt him. No, "Fix this." Or "Explain this?" "Get to practice!" "Do your chores!" Just him and the morning and silence. He cherished this, but just like every other morning it was quickly over. And as the world below his rooftop woke up, and the car horns blared, and the people began to yell, he knew he had to retreat to his underground home, or risk being seen. He stood and stretched, savoring the sun one last time, then turned to go. But suddenly something caught his eye, a flash? He turned his head to the sky and frowned, a bright red light was streaking toward the city, and before he could react his world erupted in light.

BOOM!!!!!

The whole room shook. Leonardo and Raphael shot up from the couch looking around frantically. Mike staggered out from the kitchen still holding a mixing bowl that was dripping pancake batter. They could barley keep their footing. Mike braced himself in the kitchen doorway, while Raph and Leo stood staring at the ceiling. The shaking slowly stopped and they silently looked at each other for a few moments.

"What the HELL was that?!?!?!"

"I don't know Raph!"

BOOM!!!!

The floor jerked back and forth more violently this time sending them sprawling to the floor. Chunks of concrete came crashing down on their heads. Mike managed to get under a table; Raph got over to the front door jamb. After a few seconds that seemed like hours the shaking stopped. They stayed unmoving, for several minutes. Unsure of anything. Finally Leo tore his eyes off the ceiling and looked at his brothers.

"I'm going to go get Splinter. You guys find Donnie." 

They nodded and Leo carefully made his way towards Splinters room. Huge chunks of piping and concrete blocked his way, he had to climb over some of the debris just to continue. The lair was destroyed, in some places soft rays of sunlight could be seen coming through the broken hunks of New York Street. Walls had caved in and water was trickling around his feet. As he neared Splinter's room he stopped dead in his tracks. The door had been blown off and lay in a crumpled heap on the other side of the hall. Black smoke coiled from the opening. Leo stood frozen for a moment, terrified of what he knew he would find beyond that doorway. Unable to move, unable to speak, he just stared at the smoke, and only then did he notice that all the other rooms looked the exact same way. Wood and debris littered the floor where he stood, dust and smoke filling the hall, making it hard to breath. His eyes and throat began to burn. Coughing uncontrollably he hesitantly entered Splinters room, tossing bits of furniture out of his path, making his way back to where Splinter would be. The smoke made it nearly impossible to see. And his eyes were watering, either from the smoke or from the tears he couldn't be sure. He came around the side of the massive bookcase that had fallen halfway over the bed, and there, crumpled among pieces of broken wood and torn blankets, lay Splinter underneath a huge hunk of concrete that had once been the ceiling. Leo's heart dropped. His fur was soaked with blood and his lifeless eyes stared into nothing. He gazed at the still body of his Master, hardly even able to think. His mentor, his teacher, his…Father…. gone. In a blind fury he threw the bookcase from the bed and rushed to his master's side. Only his head and chest were seen from under the rock, blood was beginning to pool beneath the bed. Tentatively he reached forward and closed the staring eyes, and suddenly feeling that morning's breakfast begin to creep back up his throat, he spun and rushed from the room. He leaned against the wall and threw up as fresh tears fell from his eyes. Raph and Mike appeared from the direction of Don's lab, and both knew, without having to ask. Raph's lips turned up in a snarl and a single tear fell down Mike's cheek.

Leo looked up at them and wiped his mouth, "Where's Don?"

Mike brushed the tear away but more just fell in its place, "We can't find him Leo. We don't know where he is." He let out a shaky breath.

Leo sighed heavily, for the first time in his life he didn't know what to do. Finally he muttered "Come on. We have to get out of the sewers. We don't want to get trapped down here."

"But what about Master Splinter?" Raph growled

Leo took a deep breath, steadying the tears. "He's gone Raph." He almost choked on the words; "There's nothing we can do for him now. And if we take him with us we might not get out." Raph started to say something but Leo stopped him, "We _will come back, but we won't be able to do anything for him if we're dead." Raph closed his eyes and Leo took that as silent agreement._

They stepped out into the sewers, making their way toward the nearest manhole. Wiring sizzled around them, bouncing around off the walls, as if performing some erotic dance.Light streamed down through the cracked opening and Leo was the first to ascend the ladder, "Keep your eyes open for Donnie guys." He climbed up to the manhole with Raph and Mike close behind. A bright yellow light engulfed them as they stepped out onto the street. And what they witnessed was a sight none of them could have ever dreamed. 

Complete destruction. Every building flattened. Not a soul to be seen. Giant plumbs of smoke curling up into the sky. The air smelled slightly of sulfur. The sun was blazing above them, so huge it looked like a giant fireball that would swallow the earth whole. New York was gone.

They stood silently surveying the carnage. The only sounds were the soft crackling of burning fires, the dripping of water somewhere off to the left, and the muffled sound of a quiet sobbing. Leo walked over and placed a hand on Mike's shoulder trying to comfort him but not knowing what to say. Mike wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at Leo. "We should get out of the city." And as much as it pained Leo to think of it, he knew Mike was right. He nodded slightly and looked at Raph who stood, unmoving, just staring at the sky. 

"Raph?"

He sighed deeply and after a moment looked at Leo, "Let's go."

Slowly he opened his eyes. The room was dark and cold. He realized he was lying on something hard and figuring it to be the floor, carefully sat up. His head hurt. Suddenly a bright light filled the room and he covered his eyes feeling the low throbbing become a pounding that was bouncing around his skull. Blinking he surveyed the room. It was empty, except for him and a large mirror in the wall off to his left. It didn't take two seconds for him to realize what it was, a one way mirror. Meaning that someone was probably watching him at that very moment. The panic was starting to set in as he was realizing his worst fear. He eyed the mirror suspiciously. Cautiously he stood and looked around him for a door, but didn't even see a crease in the wall anywhere, 'how did they get me in here?'

Behind the mirror a man watched. He was large and very muscular. A tiny and very thin man stood next to him holding a clipboard, "This is the one you requested My Lord Deamo. My research was very thorough." 

The large man smiled, "Excellent. Open the channel." The tiny man pressed a button and a small speaker appeared in the wall above the mirror. The Lord took a breath, "Welcome my strange looking friend. I am the Lord Deamo and from this moment on you will pledge your life to my service. I have been observing you for quite some time and, I must say, your accomplishments in science are very astounding. Your services are a much-needed addition to my little army. No other human has acquired the level of knowledge you possess, wouldn't you agree…Donatello?"

Don raised an eyebrow at the mirror, 'This guy's a little presumptuous, isn't he?' "Look I don't know who you think you are, but if you've been observing me as much as you claim then you have to know that I'm the good guy. And from what I know the good guy never works for the bad guy willingly. And, call me crazy, but you are defiantly a bad guy."

"I would advise you not to fight me about this. There is no way for you to escape from this room and I assure you, even if you could you wouldn't have any idea how to get home."

"Listen slimeball, I would never work for someone who hides behind a mirror like a scared little boy. If you want my attention so badly why don't you come out so I can see your face. Then maybe I'll give you my answer!"

"If that is your wish." Moments later Don watched as a door seemed to simply materialize in the wall and a very large man entered the room. He was dressed in a military looking outfit. Tight fitting black pants and a black tunic with a red sash that crossed his wide chest and various medals here and there. He also wore a cape that reached the floor the outside was black and the inside was the same color as the sash. He had black hair and a goatee.

Before he could even say a word Don lunged at him with a flying roundhouse kick, but he never even got close to connecting the blow. Lord Deamo sighed and pressed a little red button on his belt, watching amused as Don slumped to the ground, clutching his chest and screaming in agony. "Did you fail to notice the little bracelet on your left wrist? You see, you will serve me. Whether or not we do it the easy way or the hard way will be your choice. And I know that a sharp minded person, such as yourself, will make the right decision."

He spun and exited the room. Immediately the lights went out leaving Don lying in the darkness, gasping for breath as the pain subsided.

Two hours later they finally reached the city limits and walking got a little easier. They were all breathing hard from having to climb over all the heaps of concrete, but as they got into an area that had fewer buildings they were able to traverse more open ground. The destruction was massive, every tree, bush, flower, basically everything that had once been living was scorched. And it was eerily quiet; Leo could even toy with the notion that they were the only beings left living on the planet. Nothing moved, and they had yet to see a survivor. Raphael stopped and sat down on a rock, rubbing his feet.

Leo noticed and frowned, "Come on Raph, we have to keep moving."

"Chill Leo. Can't we take a five minute break, my feet are killing me?"

Leo sighed, "We need to try and find survivors."

Raph looked up at him, "Survivors? Yeah right. We haven't seen anything but concrete since we started walking! And what do you expect to do anyway? Just walk up to the first human we see, waving and saying," He stood now and walked up to Leo. " 'Hi how's it going, by the way did you noticed the huge explosion this morning' Sure, they'll start thinking this was some alien invasion and run screaming for the hills, AAGGHHH!" He turned in circles, waving his hands in the air dramatically.

Leo scowled at him, this was the last thing he needed, "Well I don't see you coming up with any ideas!"

Raph stopped circling and stared into Leo's eyes. "You want ideas? I got an idea." He turned and pointed behind him, "We turn around, go back to New York and get Master Splinter like we should have done in the first place, instead of running around for the last two hours like chickens with our heads cut off!"

"Leo growled at him, "I didn't run away, Raphael!"

Raph just stared at him with his eyes narrowed into slits and his voice like ice, "You didn't huh? Well whatever you say 'Fearless Leader'. But I'm going back, I refuse to leave Splinter in a concrete tomb. And I'm sure Don is wondering where we wandered off to." Raph turned and started back the way they came with Leo screaming after him. Mike stared after them with an exasperated look. This was no time for them to be fighting. He was about to chase after Leo when something caught his attention, it was a low rumbling, almost sounded like a growling, and it was getting closer.

He began looking around for the source, "Uh…guys?" They just kept walking, "Guys!?" No answer, "GUYS!!!"

They turned and glared at him, "WHAT!!"

"Don't you hear that?"

They grew quiet and listened. The rumbling was much louder now than when Mike had first picked it up and they heard it immediately. They ran back over to where Mike was standing and began looking around. The sound was familiar to Mike but he just couldn't place it. As it got louder they could tell it was coming from their right, on the other side of the hill, Leo was about to tell them to find cover when a brown Jeep came tearing around the hill and screeched to a stop right in front of them. There were four men inside, two immediately jumped out of the back and got on either side of the turtles, aiming very large guns at each of their heads. The turtles drew their weapons and prepared for a fight. But before they could strike another man emerged. He was tall, a good six feet, with bright read hair and a mustache. Muscles bulged out from his tight white T-shirt and tan colored jeans. They stood evaluating each other in silence for a long moment.

"Are you with the Du'har?"

Leo frowned, "The Du'har?"

"Are you spies?" 

Mike's eyes widened and he looked at his brothers, "Ok, When did we enter the Twilight Zone?"

The mans eyes narrowed, "Those are very strange outfits you have. Who do you work for?"

"These aren't outfits asshole! And we don't work for no one."

"Raph…"Leo warned without taking his eyes off the man, "We don't know what you're talking about and we don't want any trouble."

"Speak for yourself Leo." Raph mumbled.

The man watched them suspiciously, "Take off that mask so I can see your face." Raph smirked and removed his bandanna. "I meant the turtle mask!!"

"I thought I already told ya! This ain't a mask!" Raph growled, retying his bandanna. 

The man frowned and walked towards Mike. One gunman covered him while the other covered Raph and Leo. Mike showed no emotion on his face as the man scrutinized him. He walked a circle around him staring intently. He began to feel a little uncomfortable. The man stood back and placed a hand on his chin, smiling slightly. "That's not a costume…is it?" Mike shook his head and the man smiled a little more, "Amazing!"

Leo stepped forward then, "Look, we don't know what this Du'har is. Our home was destroyed this morning and all we want to do is figure out what is going on!"

The man turned and faced Leo, "Wilson." He spoke to the driver, "Scan them." Wilson nodded and jumped out of the Jeep, carrying a small metal box. He stood in front of Raph and a wide red beam emitted from it. He ran the beam from the tip of Raph's head down to his feet, then repeated the procedure on Mike and Leo. When he was done he handed the box to the apparent leader; "They're clean sir." He studied the small screen and then turned back to Leo. "Well you don't appear to have any Du'har tracking devices on you but we will have to do a more thorough examination back at Base Camp." He walked up to Leo and extended his hand, which Leo eyed suspiciously. "My name is Jacobs. I am the leader of the Mal'tuc." 

Leo frowned at the odd name and nodded slightly but didn't shake Jacobs hand, "I am Leonardo, and these are my brothers, Raphael and Michealangelo. May I ask what the Du'har and Mal'tuc are, exactly?"

Jacobs brought his hand back, drawing himself up slightly, "Well it is a little difficult to translate my language into English, but roughly Du'har means "One who is pledged to the service of a Leader." and Mal'tuc means "One who opposes another." Kind of like your English words, Alliance and Resistance." Leo looked like he was about to say something but Jacobs cut him off, "Well Leonardo. I encourage you and your brothers to accompany us back to Base Camp. There I can explain to you in more detail what has happened today and maybe you can enlighten me on just what you are precisely?"

"And why should we trust you?" Raph snarled.

Jacobs paused, seeming to contemplate his answer. "You don't have to come with us, but I strongly suggest it. This same destruction has occurred all over the planet and has destroyed virtually all plant and animal life. Your chances of survival would be greatly increased if you were to come with us. Not to mention Du'har battle cruisers will soon be patrolling the area and I can assure you that they shoot first, and ask questions later."

Mike looked up, "So you're saying that the planet is basically destroyed!"

"Pretty much. But again I will explain everything back at Base Camp. Will you come?"

Leo thought for a moment then looked Jacobs in the eye, "You can understand that we are quite wary of strangers, with the way we look and all. We need to know that we can trust you."

Jacobs nodded, "Of course. Your appearance has been a great shock to me, but I am not the type of person who judges people by the way they look. And I am sure that we are both on the same side here. When we get back to Camp you will undergo a full examination to ascertain whether or not you friendly to the Du'har. But if you are cleared I give you my word of honor as a Mal'tuc that you will have full protection. Regardless of the fact that you are not human."

Leo scrutinized the man and cast quick glances to his brothers.Mike looked worried but also accepting, less suspicious. Raph had his classic `Trust No One' glare in his eye. He sighed, `guess it's up to me.' He looked into Jacobs eyes, "All right, we'll go with you." He heard Raph grumble something, but choose to ignore it. They all squeezed into the jeep and sped off down the road, towards Base Camp.

Chapter 1 Coming Soon……..(maybe? Let me know^.^)


	2. Chapter 1

For disclaimers and technical stuff please see the Prologue. 

And just in case you were wondering, Deamo is pronounced "Day-mo"

Chapter 1

They drove on a dirt road that snaked around the base of a cliff. It was extremely hot. Every tree had been scorched in the blast leaving no hope of relief. Looking behind them, Leo could see the remnants of New York gripping the horizon. From their higher view he could see a huge crater that was nearly as large as the city itself. He leaned forward and tapped Jacobs on the shoulder. "What caused the crater?"

"A type of bomb. More like a laser."

Raph frowned, "Nuclear?"

"No. But just as powerful."

The mouth of a cave came into view around a corner and the jeep pulled inside and parked. They got out and walked deeper into the cave, Jacobs lantern the only source of light. Mike stared intently at the moss that clung to the cave walls. It glowed a soft blue in the darkness. After a good ten minutes a large metal door came into view. A hidden panel opened in the cave wall off to the right. Jacobs placed his hand on the panel and the door clicked softly. Jacobs turned to them, "Welcome to Base Camp."

The first room was half-circle shaped with a security desk off to the left and three doors on the right. One of which was an elevator. They were immediately carted off to the first door on the right where they underwent a very grueling and thorough security evaluation. Everything that could be poked or prodded, within reason, was. The tests became so intense that Leo began to get worried that they weren't being evaluated but studied, just the thought of it made him cringe. But just when he was about to protest the doctor came in and tossed some clothes at them.

"These are standard issue Base uniforms. It was a little difficult finding ones in your size but I think those should work out." He smiled and led them out into the main room. Jacobs was standing there waiting. A man in a white lab coat walked up to them.

"They're clear sir, absolutely no foreign electronics were detected."

Jacobs smiled, "Thank You. Well let's head down to my office and get to the point of all this."

They boarded the elevator and Jacobs hit the button for five. "This base has fourteen levels and this elevator is the only way up or down. Easier for security that way. No one can enter or leave without my clearance and everyone goes through a security check."

Leo frowned, "Problems with security?"

Jacobs looked at him, "We cannot let the Du'har find us."

The doors opened and they walked into a long hallway, at the end of which were large double doors. Armed guards stood on either side of the doors. The office was large with a very large screen placed in the right wall. A mahogany desk was centered near the back wall with two chairs placed in front of it. An overstuffed couch was against the left wall. Leo and Raph sat in the chairs and Mike took the couch. Jacobs sat down and looked at them each in turn.

"All right I will start from the beginning. Please try to keep and open mind." He smiled, "As we speak an alien spaceship is orbiting this planet. It was from that ship that the blasts came this morning. Every major city on the planet was hit. DC, Paris, Tokyo, basically everything has been destroyed. There is one man behind this attack; his name is Lord Deamo. He comes from a planet called Kelzet, located in the Epsilon quadrant of the galaxy. Earth is only one planet in his immense collection of worlds. And his followers on earth have formed the organization known as the Du'har, they are responsible for keeping the planet in Deamo's hands."

Leo sat forward now, "How do you know all this?"

Jacobs sighed, "I am also from Kelzet. Deamo and I once served together in the galactic fleet. However when he passed me in rank he gained the resources he needed to begin his….collection. I have always been very fond of Earth, it being one of my favorite vacation spots. So when I learned that this planet was on his list of worlds to conquer I sought to protect it. Only I had no idea when he would try to take this world and I didn't have enough time to build up the Mal'tuc."

Mike frowned, "But what about the President and the US Military and all that?"

"Unfortunately with the destruction of Washington DC all of your government was destroyed. The Mal'tuc is now the only hope for this planet. Deamo is a very evil man and I will not let him keep this world"

"What I don't get is if you knew about this why didn't you tell the military or anything."

Jacobs looked at Raph, "Because you do not understand the type of power Deamo wields. Even if your government had been alerted, and even if they had joined forces with every other military on the planet, there still would have been no way to stop him. He is too powerful for your planets limited technology. That is why I am here. I can provide your planet with the technology needed to fight him. However it will take time before we are ready."

They sat in silence for a moment, letting everything sink in. Then Jacobs sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. Finally Leo looked up, "So what do we do know."

"Well you are of course welcome here. We can use all the help we can get. This base was unaffected by the blast because of how deeply it is buried. Also very strategic security measures have been taken to keep the Du'har from detecting us." Leo nodded. "I will have quarters prepared for you." He typed something on his computer and then turned back to them. "In the mean time do you have any other questions?"

Mike looked up, "Is this it? I mean is this base all of the Mal'tuc?"

"Oh no. There are 25 Mal'tuc Camps placed throughout the world. Each near a major blast zone. However this camp is by far the largest."

"Do you have a plan yet?"

"Well Leo at this point we are not yet in a position to be able to plan, The Mal'tuc has yet to even plant its roots. However a plan will be formulated. Deamo is not a stupid man, and it will take some very clever thinking to be able to defeat him." 

Leo sighed and sat back, this day was going down as the worst possible day any living being could ever experience in ten million life times, at least in his opinion. Aliens from another planet, here to take over the world. It sounded like some horrible "B" movie. He glanced back a Jacobs, the light shining off his hair made it look like a flame that had frozen solid, he frowned "Is this really what you look like?"

Jacobs smiled, "No. This disguise is only to put the people of your planet more at ease. Our true form actually very closely resembles a cross between two of your earth creatures, I believe one is called a….Tarantula? And the other a….oh what is it?….A Cobra, yes that's it." Leo grimaced, he would never admit it to anyone but he hated snakes, "And since we're on the subject, this is _your true form, correct?"_

Leo glanced over at Mike who sat up quickly, it was his turn to tell the story. "Yeah man we're really turtles! Ya' see about 20 years ago….

_About a half hour goes by….._

…..and then the world was destroyed this morning."

"Amazing!" Jacobs was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, eye's wide and mouth agape. "Absolutely amazing, even on my planet such a fantastical story is, unheard of, not even imagined. And you have been living in hiding all this time?" They all nodded, But then Jacobs frowned, "But you said there are five?" 

Raph clenched his teeth and glared at the floor. Leo sighed and looked at Jacobs with sadness in his eyes. "There were. Our Master and our brother didn't make it."

Jacobs nodded slightly. There was silence for a few moments, none of the turtles wanted to speak of it and Jacobs didn't know what to say. Obviously words would not bring back their family. Finally he broke the silence. "Well, I'm sure this has been a very trying and stressful day for you all. You deserve a rest, come, your quarters should be prepared." 

They all stood and followed Jacobs into the hall, toward the elevator. When they got in Jacobs pressed the button for ten and began to tell them a little more about the camp. "The first floor is entry and security, no one can pass through to a lower floor without a full body scan and strip search. Any trace of foreign electronics and the transmissions are jumbled and you are killed." There was a surprised silence for a moment and Jacobs looked at each of them. "Deamo is ruthless, and because of this we can't afford not to be. The second level is two hundred feet below the first and houses the medical labs and kitchens. Level three is the dining area and conference rooms and levels four and five contain the higher-ranking officer's private offices. Levels six through eight hold the training facilities. Levels nine through twelve are the sleeping quarters. The last two levels are very high security where only a very select few are allowed. It is where the weapons storage and science labs are kept. You must have a special key card and code to enter those levels. The code changes every day. This facility descends 4000 feet into the ground. Your quarters are on level 10." The doors opened with a `ding' and Jacobs walked three doors down, opening the one on the left. All quarters are identical, however I will leave it to your choice, you have rooms four five and six. I will be issuing a memo to all residents about you, so that no one gets to frightened, but I will leave out any greater details. Those can be given at your disclosure."

Leo nodded, "Thank you Jacobs."

"Please rest well my friends, and if you would be so kind as to join me in the conference room on the third floor in the morning?" They all nodded, and Jacobs smiled "Good night then." He went back to the elevator and the turtles turned to each other. Without a word spoken Raph spun and stormed into room six, slamming the door behind him. Leo sighed and slowly turned, entering room five. Mike looked up and down the hall for a few moments before going into room four.

Barley ten minuets later a door opened and the occupant walked to the next door down, knocking softly. Leo opened and smiled, "Come on in Mike, I already made you a spot on the floor."

Again, the door materialized from the wall and the turtle on the floor glared up at the man who sauntered over to him, stopping at his feet. "Well my green friend I think I've given you ample time to think about things. I do trust you have re-thought your decision."

Don just looked at the floor, "Do I have a choice?"

Deamo smirked, "Not really. Mr. Marks please escort Mr. Donatello to his rooms and make sure he is comfortable."

"Yes, My Lord."

Deamo looked back at the turtle, "In the morning we will discuss your role here" He watched as Donatello walked from the room, still amazed at the development of such a creature, and smiled evilly.

The trumpet blared through the speaker system and Leonardo's eye's shot open. He glanced around frantically for a moment before he remembered where he was, then slowly sat up. He swung his legs out of bed and stood up, almost stepping on Mike in the process who just rolled over and buried his head under the pillow, mumbling something about the end of the world and just where the hell they managed to find the stupid trumpet. Leo smiled and finding some towels in a drawer, went to take a shower. 

He turned the water on and made it just slightly to hot, so he could relax a little. As he climbed in the previous nights events came back to him. The evening really had gone reasonably well, all things considered. Mike had cried for the better part of four hours before finally falling asleep, leaving Leo to try and absorb the reality of the situation. And they hadn't heard a word out of Raph all night, which wasn't that strange coming from Raph, but Leo was still worried. He almost _wanted_ Raph to come stumbling into the room in the middle of the night, tears streaming down his face, just so he would know what his brother was feeling. But he resigned himself to accepting that he would probably never find out where Raph was right now, and to just take each day as it comes. Which was easier said than done at 1:30 in the morning when it finally became real. He wasn't in his bed; He wasn't in the lair, would never be again; Donatello was missing, probably dead; And Splinter… He had shut his eyes then, silently allowing the tears to come and had no more thoughts as the darkness overcame him. He just stood there drowning in his thoughts as the water poured over him.

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Meanwhile, Raphael was standing in the middle of the floor staring up at the speaker that had a Sai permanently wedged thru it wondering how he was going to explain _this_ one to Leo. It wasn't his fault they had chosen a freakin' trumpet for a wake up call, 'where'd they get the dumb thing anyway?' shaking his head he stood on the desk and started prying his weapon from the wall.

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Standing under the now frigid water Leo slowly became aware of a pounding sound. Then thru the haze of his thoughts he heard a voice.

"Leo! What're ya doin in there?" Then softer "Wait don't answer that! I might not want to know."

He quickly shut off the water and ran to open the door, "Sorry Mike. I didn't realize how long I was in there."

"I'm goin back to my room to take a shower. The first chance for a real shower that isn't recycled sewer water and I ain't missin' it."Flashing Leo his classic cheesy grin he rushed from the room.

Chuckling he finished drying off and gathered his gear. Walking the few feet to Raph's door he knocked softy and hearing a grunt that vaguely sounded like 'come in' he opened the door. Walking in, his attention was immediately drawn to his left where he saw Raph with his left foot planted firmly on the top of the desk, his right foot planted firmly on the wall and both hands wrapped around the hilt of his Sai, which was imbedded in what looked like the remains of a speaker. Before Leo could say anything, the Sai came free and sent Raph flying off the desk and back onto the bed. 

They just looked at each other for a moment before Leo sighed, "I don't want to know."

"Good, cause I wasn't gonna tell ya."

"Are you ready."

Raph rolled off the bed grumbling, "Whatever."

They stopped at Mikey's room and drug him out of the shower before heading to the elevator and level three.

Donatello had very unwillingly fallen asleep, sheer exhaustion being the only thing that made him close his eyes. He couldn't even remember what time he had dropped off. He only knew that right now someone was poking him in the arm. He slowly turned his head to see the man Deamo had called Marks, holding what looked like a cane, jump back from the sleeping turtle in a panic.

Don sighed, "What do you want!?"

Marks looked completely terrified, "I…um… that is… ah" He sat up making Marks slam back against the door spiting out, "Lord Deamo will see you now!"

"Great! The highlight of my morning." He stood and stretched watching Marks out of the corner of his eye. "I won't hurt you, you know." Marks just stared at him wide-eyed and he sighed, "Let's just go." He'd never seen a man open a door so quickly in his life.

They made their way down the hall while workers, he assumed, in black and red jumpsuits stared at him. He had to speed walk to keep up with Marks who was obviously trying to get as far away from him as possible. Which was fine with him, he couldn't care less. 'Man I'm starting to sound like Raph' he thought to himself. 'Raph…I hope they're ok.' 

Just then they arrived at a large black door and Marks opened it, allowing Don to pass. The door slammed behind him and he looked around. There was a deep red carpet with a black couch and coffee table in the middle of the room facing the door. Behind that was a gigantic midnight black desk with a high back chair that looked like it was about ten feet tall. But the thing that caught him off guard the most was the huge window on his left side that gave a spectacular view of the Earth from about 20 million miles up. 'Wow'

"Breathtaking, isn't it?"

Don turned to see the chair swivel around, revealing a very smug looking Lord Deamo. "What is going on?"

"Well, as I mentioned to you before, I have been observing you and your world for some time." He paused "I have a hobby. I collect worlds. And yours has been the latest to join my little collection.

Don turned back to the window, "What did you do?"

"Unfortunately the Human race had become so advanced that I couldn't simply go down and take over." He stood and walked slowly over to where Don stood. "They needed to be immobilized, caught unaware. So to accomplish this I merely destroyed all of the major cities on your planet." 

Don's eyes grew wide, "The flash I saw…"

"Yes, I beamed you to my ship mere seconds before your New York was leveled."

He couldn't think. The room was spinning. And as he stared down at the Earth only one thought was flitting across the edge of his sub-conscious. 'New York is leveled? Then my family is probably gone… I am alone?"


End file.
